Haze

Bristol

Monday 5th November 2018

Name, where are you from?Will Harrison from Haze, a band birthed from the bosom of middle England, a shire like no other… Buckinghamshire. We’ve now moved to Bristol after having realised that we have actually been living on a country road in the middle of nowhere.

Describe your style in three words?Unfashionable 00s Dad.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?Duds at the Old England in Bristol is a gig that sticks with me. The show was completely sold-out, and the crowd was uncomfortably packed into the room. Militantly tight as always, Duds had to battle against sound issues in a room where they had about as much room to move as the audience, which led to chaos. There was a sort of democratic parity with the audience… their performance was faultless and it was a special show for me.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?Wire and Pavement would be my crazy albeit unrealistic lineup. In terms of influence, I draw a lot on late '70s British punk, early-'80s post-punk but also '90s American indie, so sharing a stage with these legendary bands would be a realization of everything Haze is about.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?Nestor Makhno would be a strong contender. He was a crazy Ukranian anarchist who led a peasant army in the Russian Civil War who were enemies with literally everyone else - the Bolsheviks, monarchists, bourgeois liberals. He also used to orchestrate these setups where he’d hold truce meetings with other factions and then assassinate them. Strong moustache game as well.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?In Bristol, it would have to be Crofters Rights. We were lucky enough to play a sold-out launch show there the night before our single, 'Ladz Ladz Ladz' was released back in April. The venue has hosted what I would consider some of the best gigs I have ever been to, namely LICE and Meat Raffle. It’s a haven for new bands to play to packed out crowds, and the lack of ventilation brings a sort of atmospheric chaos to the night, with both band and audience feeling on the brink of collapse.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?Hard to pick an individual, but Devo as a musical collective would be my pick for unsung heroes. Devo were absolute genius, well ahead of their time. I feel like Devo have been overlooked quite a bit when we look back at the most influential bands in history. Uniforms, hilarity and perhaps the wonkiest music ever created. 'Jocko Homo' off their debut is a stand out for me, and the video is delightfully disturbing.

Haze's recent live shows have included support slots with Shame, Starcrawler, Lice and Sorry, with upcoming slots such as Phobophobes, Pip Blom and Kagoule. Their latest single 'St John' was released in October 2018, on Hate Hate Hate Records.